Friday, May 30, 2008

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Through The Veil - Shiloh Walker

Shiloh was wonderful enough to share an EXCLUSIVE excerpt with us! How lucky are we? Woot! Way cool...

We'll fight this war without you…

Swallowing, she rubbed her chest. The ache there expanded as his words echoed in her mind over and over. Explain that.

Explain it—there was no earthly way to explain it. Well, there was one. She was going crazy. She was going crazy—having bizarre, insane dreams and she had cut herself. But even as she thought that through, she knew it was wrong. This felt like no dream.

It felt like a memory.

A man's face shimmered into her mind's eye.

The man from that piece she had been working on the other day.

Kalen. His name was Kalen. His face had haunted her dreams for so long.

Kalen, standing over a bloody mess of chaos and destruction, turning to look at her with pain and disappointment in those amazing silver eyes. His hair was a silken black cloak that hung around his shoulders, half way down his back…and he was angry, so angry, the air around him all but vibrated with his rage.

You belong in our world…


She closed her eyes, pressing her hands to her face. Behind her eyelids, she saw a world that was overwhelmed by war, by chaos, pitted blackened areas that had once been cities, forests stripped of everything green and pure, a world so ugly and torn. Smoke filled the air and fires always burned. It was a terrifying, ugly image, as close to hell on earth as she could imagine. But like an afterimage…another world wavered, just beyond the reach of her sight, something green and lush and rich.

That was the world as it had once been. Before something, or someone, had torn open a hole that led straight to hell. Now it was a feeding and breeding ground for something evil, something vile.

Too real…too real…

Lee whimpered in her throat, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on her knees. You're going out of your mind… That low, raspy voice, with its odd accent. Like Ireland, but heavier. Almost more ancient sounding. You belong in my world… it sounded like music to her ears, y b'lon in me world. Ye know it…ye always have.

His eyes were pools of molten silver, and just as hot. Damn it, there was no way she could have imagined a creature as fantastical as he was. Or as angry. The rage she sensed inside him was practically tangible. He seemed so real… Whimpering, she curled on her side in the bed and whispered, "What's going on with me?"

The entire dream, she remembered all of it. She had closed her eyes to go to sleep last night and a brief moment of nothingness…then she had opened her eyes, seeing a murky display of greenish purple lights just beyond the thick cover of clouds. A strange sense of purpose has filled her and she had moved through the bizarre landscape of empty rubble strewn streets, shells of building, trees that were twisted and stunted. Walking those roads had felt familiar, and she had seen faces that she had known.

The more she thought about the dream, the memories she seemed to find, like they had been buried just under the sand, and a wind had come, blowing the sand away and exposing the memories. Curling her hands into fists, she clenched her teeth against another onslaught of memories and rasped, "What is going on?"

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7 People Gabbed:

CrystalGB said...

Great excerpt. Makes me want to read more. :)

Cathy M said...

Love your description of Kalen. "That low, raspy voice, with its odd accent. Like Ireland, but heavier. Almost more ancient sounding." That just so works for me. Can't wait to read it.

Anonymous said...

I have been waiting so impatiently for this book. I am a huge fan!

Pamk said...

Great excerpt. And of course SHi is nice enough to give us an excerpt snort you meant she likes to tease and torture us with things we can't get our hands on yet. lol.

Anonymous said...

sniff.... pam... i'm hurt... sniffle.

;)

Lori T said...

I can hardly wait for this to come out. I want it...I want it, but I am restraining myself until Tuesday even though I saw it in my local Wal-Mart this morning. I told my husband to absolutely not let me buy it...even though I really really wanted it. He had no problem telling me not to get it cause according to him I have thousands at home to read.

Pamk said...

yeah right shi I can here you cackling with glee alway over here in AL.